Sky's Back

Today was round two with Sky and it went better today than Friday, Orin got there within minutes and we had a LONG tie. I had wondered to myself if it was a little late today; the scale that their vets uses of ng/ml is not familiar to me, we've always worked on nmol/L. Sky was tested on Tuesday and was on 3.45ng/ml, according to my calculation that was before ovulation so about 10 or 11 nmol/L (Where ovulation is around 16) Tested on Wednesday lunchtime she was 7.38ng/ml, early 20ies nmol/L, so she had just ovulated. Sky was mated Friday lunchtime - so 48 hrs after ovulation. That should be ideal, but she did seem to have gone up quickly and I thought maybe a mating yesterday rather than today would have been better for round two, but neither the owner or Alison could do it yesterday, that's why thankfully we opted for this morning when she really did seem physically more ready. Sometimes maybe nature knows better than numbers, which after all are only as good as the person reading them. 

Of course if we were bang on on Friday then a second mating wasn't necessary, it won't affect the size of the litter, you could have 20 matings, and, for example, if there are only five eggs to fertilise then you'll never get more than 5 puppies. Anyway round two is always a good idea when you can do it and figures aside we always used to say that it's best to mate a bitch about 48 hours after she ovulates, and then again 48 hours after that. This is because a bitches eggs aren't mature when they're released, and it takes a couple of days for them to soften and be ready for fertilization. So, hopefully, mating within that window gives you the best chance of pregnancy. 

I really want this litter for these people, you may recall the pup they kept for themselves from the previous litter died of a torsion. They are obviously still devastated at the loss, torsion can happen to any of us, more often than not with disastrous consequences. The other pups, now 2 years old, are all doing well, but Martin and Claire really deserve to find the happiness a puppy brings into your life again. 

In the photo - Sky at home with her bessie mate Rex.